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The lives and loves of the great condottieri

Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, was the archetypal ‘Renaissance man’: a brilliant soldier, scholar and ally of the pope, he spent much of the vast wealth on commissioning artists to decorate the city.

Sigismondo Malatesta, lord of the neighbouring city of Rimini, was also a brilliant soldier and generous patron of the arts. He and Federigo were locked in an epic feud which saw them fight as mercenaries for and against just about every Italian ruler of note, so long as the other was on the opposite side.

Together they epitomised the spirit of the condottieri – the contract army leaders who drove the explosion of new political, commercial and artistic ideas that has since become known as the Renaissance.

From the Orange Prize-winning author of Property, the story of a woman on the run from sexual obsession

‘An impressive writer…I admire her straightforward style and the intelligence and strength of her heroine’ Ann Tyler

Helene is a woman constantly on the run. A social worker, she spends her days trying to sort out other people’s lives. But her need for professional detachment carries through to her private life where she is pursued by a series of needy men – one simply mad and obsessive, another a drug addict whose habit is all-consuming, the third the partner of her best friend who has a cruel, selfish streak. People see in her the sort of person in whom they can confide their secrets and desires but Helene is determined never to give up the option to walk away.

A chilling tale of murder and passion deep in the bayou from the Orange Prize-winning author of Property.

Claude is a middle-aged man unwillingly attached to Mona, a woman obsessed with marriage and respectability. Then one night he meets the exotic Alexandra – regal, tall and spare, skittish and powerfully independent. When her rich friend Diana falls pregnant, Alexandra and Claude agree to accompany her to Diana’s house hidden deep in the bayou, where they will assist her with the birth. They are joined by Collie, the housekeeper and Banjo, a drunken old handyman. At the house, Claude hears a disturbing and haunting story of a man similar to himself who was also involved with Alexandra and Diana and was found murdered in a hotel room.

This is a gothic and mysterious tale set deep in the heart of the bayou.

‘Few have written so surprisingly, so convincingly, as Valerie Martin about sexual obsession and the perverse twistings of the human heart’ Margaret Atwood

‘The writing – so prised and clean limbed – is a marvel’ Toni Morrison

Set in New Orleans, this is a novel about a love triangle. Married mother, Emma Miller, is bored with her husband, her job and her life so she begins a passionate, often violent, affair with Pascal Toussaint, a sadist with whom she becomes obsessed. Pascal, in the meantime, is fixated on a young novice called Claire D’anjou. Claire seems rather cold, is devout to an extreme, and is prone to visions. Pascal’s father describes her as ‘not satisfied with being only mortal’. Emma endures the same sort of self-effacement in her relationship with Paul as Claire does in her struggle towards religious purity. This is all set against the backdrop of a city overrun by rats and awash with a mysterious plague.

‘Sexy, absorbing and insightful … a great read’ PEOPLE

Every woman holds the power to enchant or to destroy. In New Orleans, three women from completely different backgrounds face a turning point in their lives. Ellen, a vet at a New Orleans zoo, is trying to contain an infectious disease that threatens the zoo’s animals. At the same time, she must come to terms with her crumbling marriage. Alongside her works Camille, an enigmatic and disturbed young woman whose terrifying fantasies threaten to overwhelm her. Finally there is Elisabeth, ‘The Catwoman of St Francisville,’ who was hanged in 1845 for murdering her bullying husband in horrific circumstances.

In a compelling tale that bristles with energy and a sense of foreboding, their stories converge to reveal the secrets behind the ‘untamed’ aspects of human nature.

‘An absolute joy to read…part love story, part ghost story, and a wholly enjoyable and intelligent summer read’ Amanda Craig, NEW STATESMAN

‘Beautifully written’ EVE

‘Part love story, part murder mystery, part psychological study… her writing truly soars’ TIME OUT

Thirtysomething New Yorker Lucy Stark leads a quiet, solitary life working for a bestselling – but remarkably untalented – writer. When he dies at a villa in Tuscany, Lucy flies to Italy to settle his affairs. What begins as
a grim chore soon threatens her self-reliance and her very sense of reality.

In Italian Fever, Valerie Martin evokes a modern woman’s headlong tumble into a world where E.M.Forster’s angels feared to tread. Smart and sophisticated, this novel takes us on a journey from which we return, like Lucy, utterly changed.

NOW A MAJOR NEW TV SERIES: CAROL DRINKWATER’S SECRET PROVENCE

Second in the bestselling Olive Farm story from the bestselling author of THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER

‘She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside’ BELLA

‘Vibrant, intoxicating and heart-warming’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘I scan the terraces, planted with row upon row of ancient olive trees. It is April, late spring. Here in the hills behind the Cote d’Azur the olive groves are delicately blossomed, with their tiny, white-forked flowers. Beyond them, perched halfway up the slope of the hill, our belle epoque villa comes into view. Abounding in balustrade terraces, nestling among cedars and palms, facing out at a south-westerly angle, overlooking the bay of Cannes towards the sun-kissed Mediterranean, there it is, Appassionata, awaiting us…’

THE OLIVE FARM told how Carol Drinkwater and partner Michel fell in love with and bought an abandoned Provencal olive farm. Now, in THE OLIVE SEASON, Carol is pregnant and their ever-loyal gardener is leaving to oversee the marriage of his son. Often unassisted, and with new challenges to face, Carol takes on the bulk of the farm work alone. Water is, as ever, a costly problem, and she goes in search of a diviner who promises almost magical results. But, as the harvest season approaches, dramatic events cast dark shadows of their olive farm.

NOW A MAJOR NEW TV SERIES: CAROL DRINKWATER’S SECRET PROVENCE

Second in the bestselling Olive Farm story from the bestselling author of THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER

‘She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside’ BELLA

‘Vibrant, intoxicating and heart-warming’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘I scan the terraces, planted with row upon row of ancient olive trees. It is April, late spring. Here in the hills behind the Cote d’Azur the olive groves are delicately blossomed, with their tiny, white-forked flowers. Beyond them, perched halfway up the slope of the hill, our belle epoque villa comes into view. Abounding in balustrade terraces, nestling among cedars and palms, facing out at a south-westerly angle, overlooking the bay of Cannes towards the sun-kissed Mediterranean, there it is, Appassionata, awaiting us…’

THE OLIVE FARM told how Carol Drinkwater and partner Michel fell in love with and bought an abandoned Provencal olive farm. Now, in THE OLIVE SEASON, Carol is pregnant and their ever-loyal gardener is leaving to oversee the marriage of his son. Often unassisted, and with new challenges to face, Carol takes on the bulk of the farm work alone. Water is, as ever, a costly problem, and she goes in search of a diviner who promises almost magical results. But, as the harvest season approaches, dramatic events cast dark shadows of their olive farm.

NOW A MAJOR NEW TV SERIES: CAROL DRINKWATER’S SECRET PROVENCE

The first in Carol Drinkwater’s bestselling series set on a Provencal olive farm.

‘She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside’ BELLA

‘Spellbinding’ CHOICE

‘Vibrant, intoxicating and heart-warming’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘All my life, I have dreamed of acquiring a crumbling, shabby-chic house overlooking the sea. In my mind’s eye, I have pictured a corner of paradise where friends can gather to swim, relax, debate, eat fresh fruits picked directly from the garden and great steaming plates of food served from an al fresco kitchen and dished up on to a candlelit table the length of a railway sleeper…’

When Carol Drinkwater and her partner Michel have the opportunity to buy 10 acres of disused olive farm in Provence, the idea seems absurd. After all, they don’t have a lot of money, and they’ve only been together a little while.

THE OLIVE FARM is the story of the highs and lows of purchasing the farm and life in Provence: the local customs and cuisine; the threats of fire and adoption of a menagerie of animals; the potential financial ruin and the thrill of harvesting their own olives – especially when they are discovered to produce the finest extra-virgin olive oil…

The first in Carol Drinkwater’s bestselling series set on a Provencal olive farm.

‘She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside’ BELLA

‘Spellbinding’ CHOICE

‘Vibrant, intoxicating and heart-warming’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘All my life, I have dreamed of acquiring a crumbling, shabby-chic house overlooking the sea. In my mind’s eye, I have pictured a corner of paradise where friends can gather to swim, relax, debate, eat fresh fruits picked directly from the garden and great steaming plates of food served from an al fresco kitchen and dished up on to a candlelit table the length of a railway sleeper…’

When Carol Drinkwater and her partner Michel have the opportunity to buy 10 acres of disused olive farm in Provence, the idea seems absurd. After all, they don’t have a lot of money, and they’ve only been together a little while.

THE OLIVE FARM is the story of the highs and lows of purchasing the farm and life in Provence: the local customs and cuisine; the threats of fire and adoption of a menagerie of animals; the potential financial ruin and the thrill of harvesting their own olives – especially when they are discovered to produce the finest extra-virgin olive oil…

In the bestselling Olive series by writer and actress Carol Drinkwater, author of THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER

‘She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside’ BELLA

‘Her writing captures the true spirit of the people and places she visits’ THE TIMES

‘A thrilling tale tracing the journey of olive cultivation’ THE LADY

THE OLIVE TREE charts Carol Drinkwater’s colourful and often dangerous journey in search of the routes that olive cultivation has taken over the centuries. Set during a springtime Mediterranean that is evocative and perennial, it is above all a tale of our time.

Troubled by challenges her own South of France farm is experiencing, Carol realises new approaches to farming are becoming essential. Her quest takes her south through Spain, Morocco, Algeria and Italy before she finally returns to her farm.

Through her travels and vivid encounters, Carol confronts some of the critical issues of our time – land-care and the harsh realities of diminishing water reserves – and ends her momentous journey in the company of olive growers whose vision for the future is remarkable and ingenious.

In the terrific bestselling olive series by writer and actress Carol Drinkwater, bestselling author of THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER

‘She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside’ BELLA

‘Spellbinding’ CHOICE

‘One cannot resist Drinkwater’s courage and joie de vivre, nor the enormous appetite and enthusiasm for her subject’ Wendy Holden DAILY MAIL

Since Carol Drinkwater moved to an olive farm in France she has developed a passion for the olive tree and the culture that has grown up around it. From the eastern shores of the shimmering Mediterranean to its western coast this fruit is farmed. Its silvery-green branches have inspired painters and poets, but who first pressed its ‘bitter berry’ and transformed it into liquid gold?

In quest of its secrets and traditions, Carol embarked on a solo adventure round the Mediterranean basin. Transporting readers across the olive’s ancient paths, celebrating its venerable past, tracking trade routes, unearthing unlikely stories, encountering peoples of today and bygone times, Carol comes full circle, back to her farm in the sun-baked Provençal hills.

In the terrific bestselling olive series by writer and actress Carol Drinkwater, bestselling author of THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER

‘She writes so well you can almost smell the sun-baked countryside’ BELLA

‘Spellbinding’ CHOICE

‘One cannot resist Drinkwater’s courage and joie de vivre, nor the enormous appetite and enthusiasm for her subject’ Wendy Holden DAILY MAIL

Since Carol Drinkwater moved to an olive farm in France she has developed a passion for the olive tree and the culture that has grown up around it. From the eastern shores of the shimmering Mediterranean to its western coast this fruit is farmed. Its silvery-green branches have inspired painters and poets, but who first pressed its ‘bitter berry’ and transformed it into liquid gold?

In quest of its secrets and traditions, Carol embarked on a solo adventure round the Mediterranean basin. Transporting readers across the olive’s ancient paths, celebrating its venerable past, tracking trade routes, unearthing unlikely stories, encountering peoples of today and bygone times, Carol comes full circle, back to her farm in the sun-baked Provençal hills.

NOW A MAJOR NEW TV SERIES: CAROL DRINKWATER’S SECRET PROVENCE

The third in the bestselling story which began with THE OLIVE FARM – from the author of THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER

‘Captures perfectly the dreamy atmosphere of the South of France and its people’ WOMAN AND HOME

‘Vibrant, intoxicating and heart-warming’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘The stars shimmer like spilled handfuls of glitter. The day is beginning to rise with a faint mist. As I turn my head, ghostly halos, auras of light, appear and disappear … The silence is truly awesome. Not a bird, not a whisper of wind, not a breath of life. Only the two of us, a most implausible pair, standing shoulder to shoulder gazing upon an awakening heaven’

Returning to their home after an extended absence Carol and her husband Michel are looking forward to summer together on the farm. A shocking blow leaves Carol alone and the future is uncertain. Feeling isolated and with no olives to harvest, Carol ventures beyond the farm to explore other aspects of Provencal life – from hunting to bee-keeping, the ancient language to the ever-present demands of family and friends. And ultimately, Provence’s generous diversity – and Carol’s own persistence in sharing it with those she loves – paves a path to joy.

NOW A MAJOR NEW TV SERIES: CAROL DRINKWATER’S SECRET PROVENCE

The third in the bestselling story which began with THE OLIVE FARM – from the author of THE FORGOTTEN SUMMER

‘Captures perfectly the dreamy atmosphere of the South of France and its people’ WOMAN AND HOME

‘Vibrant, intoxicating and heart-warming’ SUNDAY EXPRESS

‘The stars shimmer like spilled handfuls of glitter. The day is beginning to rise with a faint mist. As I turn my head, ghostly halos, auras of light, appear and disappear … The silence is truly awesome. Not a bird, not a whisper of wind, not a breath of life. Only the two of us, a most implausible pair, standing shoulder to shoulder gazing upon an awakening heaven’

Returning to their home after an extended absence Carol and her husband Michel are looking forward to summer together on the farm. A shocking blow leaves Carol alone and the future is uncertain. Feeling isolated and with no olives to harvest, Carol ventures beyond the farm to explore other aspects of Provencal life – from hunting to bee-keeping, the ancient language to the ever-present demands of family and friends. And ultimately, Provence’s generous diversity – and Carol’s own persistence in sharing it with those she loves – paves a path to joy.

‘Cain has established a formidable reputation of furious pace, harsh and masterful realism, tough, raw speech right out of the mouths of the people’ SATURDAY REVIEW

Serenade is the story of the eternal triangle – with a difference. John Howard Sharp is an American opera singer down on his luck, having just bombed in Rigoletto in Mexico City when he first encounters the beautiful Mexican-Indian prostitute called Juana. Miraculously, she offers him the chance to rebuild his career in Hollywood and New York but then Winston Hawes, the young, rich and well-connected conductor who had first launched Sharp, comes back into his life with terrible consequences.

A collection of the most important essays on past and current history by the Western world’s foremost Islamic scholar

Bernard Lewis has charted the great centuries of Islamic power and civilisation but also, in his recent books WHAT WENT WRONG? and THE CRISIS OF ISLAM, Islam’s calamitous and bitter decline. This book collects together his most interesting and significant essays, papers, reviews and lectures.

They range from historical subjects such as religion and politics in Islam and Judaism, the culture and people of Iran, the great mosques of Istanbul, Middle Eastern food and feasts, the Mughals and the Ottomans, the rise and fall of British power in the Middle East and North Africa, Islam and racism – to current history such as the significance of Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden. Includes discussion of the problems of Western historians dealing with the Islamic world.

The story of the many suitors of Elizabeth I – one of the most eligible brides in 16th century Europe.

From her childhood, overshadowed by the marital upheavals of her father Henry VIII, and the tragic first encounter with courtship, to the fantastical flirtations of her old age, Elizabeth refused to commit herself to any man. During the marriage negotiations, which spanned half a century, romance blended with diplomacy as one illustrious suitor after another endeavoured to ally himself to her in the most intimate of treaties.

Sought after by some of the most powerful men in Europe, she knew her marriageable status to be one of her greatest assets. She played one suitor against another, exploiting her situation to the full both for England’s profit and her pleasure. By turns she encouraged and eluded her pursuers, keeping alive hopes which she would never fulfil. Yet one man did come close to winning her. Ambitious, devious Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, suspected by many of having murdered his wife, was the most persistent of the suitors to the Queen, and though he never attained the prize he longed for, he was dearly loved by Elizabeth all her life. This is a fascinating look at the many suitors of Elizabeth I.

The story of the many suitors of Elizabeth I – one of the most eligible brides in 16th century Europe.

From her childhood, overshadowed by the marital upheavals of her father Henry VIII, and the tragic first encounter with courtship, to the fantastical flirtations of her old age, Elizabeth refused to commit herself to any man. During the marriage negotiations, which spanned half a century, romance blended with diplomacy as one illustrious suitor after another endeavoured to ally himself to her in the most intimate of treaties.

Sought after by some of the most powerful men in Europe, she knew her marriageable status to be one of her greatest assets. She played one suitor against another, exploiting her situation to the full both for England’s profit and her pleasure. By turns she encouraged and eluded her pursuers, keeping alive hopes which she would never fulfil. Yet one man did come close to winning her. Ambitious, devious Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, suspected by many of having murdered his wife, was the most persistent of the suitors to the Queen, and though he never attained the prize he longed for, he was dearly loved by Elizabeth all her life. This is a fascinating look at the many suitors of Elizabeth I.

Five of Philip K. Dick’s best novels in one fantastic value volume: the best of SF’s visionary master

This volume contains DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP? (filmed as BLADERUNNER), MARTIAN TIME SLIP, UBIK, THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH and A SCANNER DARKLY. Taken together they represent the best of Philip K. Dick’s unique imagination.

In Dick’s writing nothing is what it seems, our sense of the world’s order is fatally undermined and mass media tells us nothing but artful lies. Films such as THE MATRIX and THE TRUMAN SHOW would not have been made but for Philip K. Dick. His work has never been more timely.

How the wars of the near future will be fought and who will win them

Many nations, peoples and special interest groups believe that violence will advance their cause. Warfare has changed greatly since the Second World War; it continued to change during the late 20th century and this process is still accelerating. Political, technological, social and religious forces are shaping the future of warfare, but most western armed forces have yet to evolve significantly from the cold war era when they trained to resist a conventional invasion by the Warsaw Pact. America is now the only superpower, but its dominance is threatened by internal and external factors. The world’s most hi-tech weaponry seems helpless in the face of determined guerrilla fighters not afraid to die for their beliefs.

Professor Colin Gray has advised governments on both sides of the Atlantic and in ANOTHER BLOODY CENTURY, he reveals what sort of conflicts will affect our world in the years to come.

How the wars of the near future will be fought and who will win them

Many nations, peoples and special interest groups believe that violence will advance their cause. Warfare has changed greatly since the Second World War; it continued to change during the late 20th century and this process is still accelerating. Political, technological, social and religious forces are shaping the future of warfare, but most western armed forces have yet to evolve significantly from the cold war era when they trained to resist a conventional invasion by the Warsaw Pact. America is now the only superpower, but its dominance is threatened by internal and external factors. The world’s most hi-tech weaponry seems helpless in the face of determined guerrilla fighters not afraid to die for their beliefs.

Professor Colin Gray has advised governments on both sides of the Atlantic and in ANOTHER BLOODY CENTURY, he reveals what sort of conflicts will affect our world in the years to come.

A dozen star historians on what might have happened at history’s turning points if the dice had fallen differently.
‘Stimulating, provocative and playful’ Literary Review

Throughout history, great and terrible events have often hinged upon luck. Andrew Roberts has asked a team of twelve leading historians and biographers what might have happened if major world events had gone differently? Each concentrating in the area in which they are a leading authority, historians as distinguished as Antonia Fraser (Gunpowder Plot), Norman Stone (Sarajevo 1914) and Anne Somerset (the Spanish Armada) consider: What if?

Robert Cowley demonstrates how nearly Britain won the American war of independence. Following her acclaimed GEORGIANA, Amanda Foreman muses on Lincoln’s Northern States of America and Lord Palmerston’s Great Britain going to war, as they so nearly did in 1861. Whether it’s Stalin fleeing Moscow in 1941 (Simon Sebag Montefiore), or Napoleon not being forced to retreat from it in 1812 (Adam Zamoyski), the events covered here are important, world-changing ones.

A dozen star historians on what might have happened at history’s turning points if the dice had fallen differently.
‘Stimulating, provocative and playful’ Literary Review

Throughout history, great and terrible events have often hinged upon luck. Andrew Roberts has asked a team of twelve leading historians and biographers what might have happened if major world events had gone differently? Each concentrating in the area in which they are a leading authority, historians as distinguished as Antonia Fraser (Gunpowder Plot), Norman Stone (Sarajevo 1914) and Anne Somerset (the Spanish Armada) consider: What if?

Robert Cowley demonstrates how nearly Britain won the American war of independence. Following her acclaimed GEORGIANA, Amanda Foreman muses on Lincoln’s Northern States of America and Lord Palmerston’s Great Britain going to war, as they so nearly did in 1861. Whether it’s Stalin fleeing Moscow in 1941 (Simon Sebag Montefiore), or Napoleon not being forced to retreat from it in 1812 (Adam Zamoyski), the events covered here are important, world-changing ones.